When you're writing an invitation to connect via LinkedIn, you may not think it's worth putting much thought into. After all, you don't personalize most of your other social media requests. Facebook? You click a button. Twitter? Your contact doesn't even have to approve of you "following" them. The same is true on Pinterest: you might follow people that you've never met before simply because they routinely post things that you're interested in seeing.

LinkedIn, however, is a different style of platform.

Unlike Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest (and the wide variety of other available social media sites), it is designed to help you make professional connections.

That means that most of the time, you don't connect with people that you don't know just for the sake of connecting with them. You connect with them because you're hoping that those connections will help improve your chances of attaining something in the professional sector. Maybe you're looking for a new job, looking for ways to branch out in your current profession, or just looking to expand your professional contacts--but whatever it is, you want to make sure you're making connections that will stick.

That means that when you do issue an invitation or attempt to make a connection, you want it to be personal. According to this website, there are several ways that you can do that--but the key is making it personal.

The Undercover Recruiter suggests:

You should address your contact by name

Introduce yourself or remind them of how you know them

Explain why you would like to connect with them.

You should also make sure that your profile is equipped with a professional picture.

It would also make sense to keep your profile clean and professional, filling it with necessary information rather than filling it up with clutter.

In essence, you should treat your profile just like you treat the professional connections that you make in real life. Keep it serious, keep it professional, and make it personal whenever possible to help ensure that people will remember you later. You never know: your next big break could come through your next connection.

For more information on this or related topics, visit the LinkedIn or Career Advice section of the Staffing Plus Blog.

Staffing Plus is a premier healthcare staffing firm that provides temporary, per diem, temp-to-hire and permanent Staffing Solutions for Behavioral Health, Education, and Healthcare settings. We have leveraged decades of experience to assist organizations with the challenges of managing their HR and Recruiting needs.